Hazel and Gretchen
by Classified0
Summary: Hazel and his sister, Gretchen, have gone through strong hardships after their parents had passed away, but now, with Gretchen's admission to Beacon Academy, it looks like things are finally looking up for the Rainart family. This is sort of an origin story for Hazel.
1. Chapter 1

It was a quiet Saturday morning; which isn't to say much, so far out from the city, there were few days when it wasn't so. Save from the occasional Grimm attack or the excitement of a visiting Huntsman, there were few occasions that resulted in loud noises. Today, however, nothing of note was happening. Aside from the regular ticking of the clock in the kitchen, there were no noises to distract Hazel from his current task of cleaning the dishes. The house was small and modest, located in a small village near the outskirts of the Kingdom of Mistral. Haven worked odd jobs here and there, and although he wasn't fully classically trained, he was, at his 8'0 stature, a formidable opponent against the occasional Grimm or bandit attack. Today however, Haven had nowhere to go, and was working on the simple domestic tasks of maintaining his household. It was a quiet day, and that made the yelling and excitement that Hazel heard next all the more jarring.

"Hazel! Hazel! I got in!" he heard as his sister ran into their home, letter in hand.

While Hazel had always been a large man; indeed, he hardly fit in the kitchen where he was currently standing, his sister, Gretchen, was not blessed with the same height advantage. While tall for a woman at 6'0, she was dwarfed by her much larger brother. She too wore the characteristic pine green that her brother adorned; a color that their parents once wore as well. Gretchen's hair was a beautiful shade of hazelnut brown, not much darker than her own complexion. She was by all accounts, an attractive woman, and Hazel knew that their parents would have been proud of the way that she turned out.

"Hold on. Where?" Hazel replied; efficient and to the point. He knew that his sister was interested in becoming a Huntress; he too had such ambitions before their parents met their tragic demise. Ever since, he had given up on his dreams to help raise his younger sister, almost a decade his junior. He had dropped out of Haven Academy then, although he was already a couple of years in, and moved back home. The years had not been kind to Hazel, the act of suddenly becoming an adult and raising his sister on his own had taken a toll on the man; but now he knew that he would have gone through it all again just to see the look that his sister had right now.

"Beacon Academy! I'm so excited! I've never been to the city of Vale! I'm going to meet so many people and learn so much! I'm going to be the best Huntress the school had ever seen!"

Although it wasn't Haven, Hazel was still proud; but Beacon Academy was so far from their home in Mistral. Hazel liked to think that he wasn't an overprotective guardian, but it was hard not to be considering that Chestnut was all that he had left. Part of him wanted to wait, to tell Chestnut to go to Haven instead, a closer school would allow him to keep a closer eye; but he knew that his sister wanted to go to Beacon. Still, he had to voice his concern.

"Beacon is so far away. Are you sure you don't want to wait for an offer from Haven?"

"Hazel! I want to go to Beacon though! Vale looks so cool! They're huntsmen program promises live field exercises – supervised of course! I'll make sure to visit every semester! The airship costs aren't as high as they used to be, and I could even get a part-time job in Vale to save up the Lien if I need to!"

Although money was tight in their household, Haven would not let that be an obstacle to prevent his sister from visiting; "Don't worry about the cost. I can buy the tickets for you if you're dead set on going to Beacon. I am concerned about the live field exercises though; I don't want you to be in danger before you're ready."

"I'll be fine! I've fought Grimm before! You saw how easily I took down that Boarbatusk that was just outside the village last week! Besides, Beacon Academy has some of the most qualified instructors in Remnant! The headmaster, Ozpin, has helped train hundreds of huntsmen! I'm sure that he'll make sure that everyone is safe while they're in the academy!"

Hazel thought back to old videos and articles he had read; it was true that Ozpin was an impressive individual. He was one of the youngest headmasters of any of the four academies in Remnant, and it was evident from old clips that Ozpin was an accomplished fighter himself. He fought with almost supernatural instincts, as though he had an inner voice that could help him anticipate his opponents moves. As headmaster, hundreds of students had passed through his doors already; and so far, no major incident had occurred. As Hazel gave the idea more thought, he gained confidence in Gretchen's safety at the school; however, he still had to know.

"Are you sure?"

"Am I sure about what?"

"Are you sure that this is what you want to do? Being a huntress is a dangerous profession. I don't want you to get hurt."

Gretchen sighed, thinking back to their parents. Then with a newfound resolve, she replied confidently; "Yes."

She paused, "I've wanted to be a huntress for as long as I could remember. I want to protect people like mom and dad. I don't want other children to go through what I did. What you did. You weren't ready to be a parent. I know I can make a difference; I practice every day. I know it's dangerous and I know that I might die, but I cannot just lie idly by again…"

Hazel was taken aback. He knew that his sister was mature beyond her years; how could one not be, orphaned at such a young age? But still, he was surprised by Gretchen's resolve. He was proud of his sister, to hold such a strong conviction at such a young age was impressive. Hazel knew that their parents would have proud as well, and as he thought back to their memories, and despite his reservations, he replied, "Okay."

"Okay, what?" Gretchen replied.

"Okay." Hazel slumped his shoulders and sighed, looking down at his younger sister, "You're going to Beacon Academy. You better get ready."

And with that, Gretchen jumped into Hazel's arms and hugged him.

* * *

**So, this was the first story that I've ever written. I had this idea popping around in my head for quite a while, and figured that I should go ahead and write it up. For some reason, when watching the show, I really related to the Hazel character. For one thing, he looks just like me, and for another, I think he's got a similar personality to what I do; very somber and calculating. I'm also an older sibling by quite a few years and I wanted to see more of the relationship between Hazel and his sister explored. I've got a couple of more ideas for chapters, and was thinking that I might try doing this as a sort of an origin story for Hazel. Anyway, let me know what you guys think of this story and thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Hazel! Hazel! Wake up!"

It was not a quiet night; even through the bleariness of the abrupt awakening, Hazel could hear screams in the distance. Some of them were human, some were something else. The room was still dark and Hazel could not tell if the lights were damaged or if his parents had deliberately left them off. He could see a woman standing over his bed, with a toddler in one arm and a spear in the other. Her black hair was worn in a ponytail, and combat armor adorned her body. Hazel looked up at her, "Mom?" he enquired, "what's going on?"

Hazel's mother hesitated, squinting to look out the bedroom window, "You have to watch your sister."

Hazel turned around, trying to see whatever his mother was looking at, but his eyes hadn't yet adjusted to the dark, "what do you mean? Where are you going? Where's dad?"

"The village, it's under attack. Your father, he's already gone out," she paused, hearing a rumbling in the distance, "he's gone to help protect the village."

Hazel sat up, he was still a student, but he knew he had a duty. He reached for his weapon sitting on his bedside, a broad longsword, far too heavy for most people to even pick up. Hazel's semblance gave him a resistance to pain, and although it suited him well for hand-to-hand combat, it often led to injury. As a result, soon after enrolling in Haven, Hazel had a tried to learn how to fight with a weapon, and so far, had made tremendous strides. He looked up at his mother again, as he got out of bed looking for his combat clothing; "What do you need me to do?"

His mother put Chestnut down on the bed, the child still in her pajamas, "watch Gretchen. I need to go out to find your father," she looked out the window again, looking off to the distance, "go to the attic, it'll be safer there."

Now fully dressed, Hazel looked over at his mother again, "I can fight! Don't go out alone!"

His mother looked at him again, "I know. That's why you need to go to attic. Protect your sister."

The teenager looked down; he knew that his sister had to be protected.

"Don't worry Hazel. You're strong, I know you'll do whatever needs to be done." his mother looked at him as she started towards the doorway, she paused, deciding at the moment to reach for the young man and to embrace him in a hug, "know Hazel, I love you. We both do. Know that we are proud of you. Watch Gretchen, make sure to keep her safe," she let go of the hug despite Hazel's subtle efforts to try to get her to linger. His mother gave him and his sister one last glance, then got up to run out the door of the bedroom. Hazel stood there for a moment longer, then reached for his little sister, still sleeping despite all the noise. He walked out of the bedroom and in the main hallway, pulled open the entrance to the attic. It was difficult to climb up with his heavy weapon sheathed and his sister in one hand, but he made it. Once in, he put his sister down in the corner of the attic, on top of some old sheets that were sitting there, and he then closed the attic entrance.

He looked out the attic window, his eyes now finally adjusted to the dark, and he almost looked away. Outside, the village was under attack. Several of the neighboring homes were on fire and small Grimm could be seen wandering the streets. Out the window, he could still hear yelling, but the human sounds were starting to grow faint. Hazel hoped that it was because people were hiding but feared the worst. Then, off in the distance, Hazel spotted his father, surrounded by several beowolves. His father was not a classically trained Huntsman, but as a strong man standing at almost 8 feet tall, he was a formidable opponent to all but the strongest of Grimm. Although unarmed, he was still fighting the Grimm off with his punches and kicks. Hazel watched as the older Rainart punched a charging beowolf, then continued his swing to hit another. To the untrained eye, the man looked unstoppable, but Hazel could see signs of fatigue on the untrained warrior.

A little closer to the house, Hazel saw his mother running towards her husband in the distance. As a former huntress, his mother was better suited for precision fighting; and while her husband was beating off Grimm through sheer force, she was defeating the Grimm on the way through calculated precision strikes. Her spear doubled as a rifle, and Hazel's mother took advantage of that fact whenever she could. With near every swing, she fired a shot into some Grimm in the distance, while continuing the swing to hit one nearby. Hazel watched as she nearly effortlessly made her way to his father in the distance. As the older Rainart man missed with his next punch, Hazel could see the fatigue starting to pile up. Fortunately, it looked like his mother would reach his father before he would totally collapse, and Hazel relaxed a little, until he heard the screech.

Both of his parents heard the screech at the same time, and Hazel was able to follow their gaze to see a large nevermore flying in, landing on a nearby house. His mother hesitated on her path towards her husband; as a former huntress, she was one of the only people in the village with a chance of taking the nevermore on. She waited for only a moment longer, then decided to continue running towards the Rainart patriarch. She knew that the Nevermore would stay for a while longer, and she wasn't sure for how much longer her love would be able to keep off the attacking beowolves.

"What's going on?" Hazel felt a tugging on his tunic. He jolted for a moment, as he had almost forgotten that his sister was there. He looked down, seeing that she was apparently awoken by the loud screech. He kneeled to look at the young child, debating on how much of the truth to tell her.

"Grimm are attacking the village. Mom and dad are outside fighting them off," he said, hoping the bare minimum would suffice.

"Really? I want to see!" the young Gretchen replied, not realizing the gravitas of the situation.

"I don't think you should," Hazel replied, sneaking back a look himself. As he looked over, he saw that their mother had almost reached their father, and he believed that everything would soon be fine. While he was distracted, Gretchen looked out the window herself and gasped. The young child retreated, scared by the situation outside. She went back to the corner of the attic and sat quietly, holding her head in her arms.

Hazel debated with himself as to whether to go back to comfort his sister, or to continue watching the situation outside. As he watched outside, he saw his father tiredly kick away at another beowolf, while his mother ran towards her husband. Hazel started turning around to comfort his sister, but then, he caught the gaze of the nearby nevermore. Hazel immediately ducked down, hoping that the beast didn't see him, but the loud sound of wings flapping confirmed that it did.

He sneaked another peak out the window, and he saw the nevermore was gone from it's old perch. He looked around, but he couldn't spot it, but he did see his mother look back, horrified. She stopped her trek towards her husband, who was finally starting to get overwhelmed by the attacking Grimm. She looked towards Hazel, then back towards her husband. Hazel could see his father yell something to his wife, as the man dropped to his knees. Hazel's mother yelled something back at him and started firing as much as she could at the Grimm surrounding him. She was too late. The Grimm slowly started overwhelming the man as almost a dozen beowolves were wrapped around his body. Hazel had to resist the urge to scream.

The younger Rainart ducked down again; he couldn't watch anymore. With so many emotions running through his head, he tried to suppress them, forcing himself to keep to the task at hand. He reached towards his sister and held her, he had to be strong for her. He hoped that she didn't see what had just happened and feared the conversation when they had to eventually tell her. Both she and Hazel were silent, a quiet understanding between them about the situation they were now in.

He looked out the window once more and saw nothing but Grimm where his father once was. He still couldn't spot the nevermore, no matter where he looked outside. He saw his mother running back towards the home, tears dripping off her face. She was fighting off the Grimm between her and the home with a newfound conviction, but Hazel could see terror in her eyes. He tried to follow her gaze, but it looked like she was looking right at him. Suddenly, the roof was ripped off the house, and Hazel could see the nevermore very clearly.

* * *

**I wrote a second chapter, which is a flashback. I was planning on writing just one flashback chapter here, but I got into a groove and wrote more than I was anticipating. Again, any feedback is appreciated**


	3. Chapter 3

Architecture, as a topic, was one that Hazel had given a little thought to. As tall as he was, it was almost unavoidable to think of it. With every door frame he hit, ceiling he bumped against, or supporting beam that he had to duck under, he thought about the design of the building. This was true no matter where he was, but no more so than in his own home; with one of the tallest families in Remnant, one would think that their own home would be built to accommodate. Unfortunately, though, the house was built long before they had moved in, but still, Hazel had often thought that maybe they could extend the walls, add some skylights, do something, anything, to give some more headroom. But now, sitting on the floor of their attic, with the ceiling completely torn off, Hazel regretted all the misplaced anger he had at roofs. Indeed, right now, staring at the nevermore that glared down at them, Hazel wished that there was still a ceiling between them.

The young Rainart man looked up at the Nevermore as it screeched once more, and he slowly backed away, armed with his broadsword, between the beast and his sister. Although a student, Hazel had never fought a Grimm larger than himself. He saw the Nevermore reach back, getting ready to strike; and seeing no alternative, Hazel braced his sword for the impact. For a moment, everything seemed still.

Boom! A shot rang out from a rifle in the distance, followed by frantic female yelling. The Nevermore was hit by an explosion of dust, and it looked away, to the direction of both the projectile and the screaming. Hazel's heart skipped a beat, as he realized his mother was risking her life to save the Rainart children. While the beast was distracted, Hazel reached over and picked up Gretchen, the child still cowering in the corner of the room; and before the Grimm was able to turn back to the children, the pair had dashed out of the attic and were running through the house. As they ran, they heard a giant flap, as the bird-like creature, took off, distracted by something else. Hazel feared he knew what this newfound distraction was, as the two children cowered in the living room of their family home.

Then, as though she were summoned, the Rainart matriarch burst through one of the living room windows, yelling and gesturing at her two children to move through the door at the other side of the building, "hurry! It's not safe here!"

Hazel quickly picked up his sister, and ran through the home's front door, followed closely by their mother, who was still focusing on the window. Seconds later, the Nevermore flew through. Hazel was not an expert in architecture, but he knew that few homes were designed to sustain the full force impact of a several ton Grimm. The building collapsed on top of the beast, but from the vibrations of the rubble, they could tell it was still alive. The rubble would delay the Nevermore, nothing more.

"Come on! It's not safe yet, there are hundreds of Grimm here, and that rubble isn't going to stop that Nevermore for long!" Hazel's mother broke the silence. She started running off, gesturing at her children to follow.

As they ran through the town, they heard screams from the other townsfolk as they were massacred by the Grimm. Although Hazel's mother killed a couple of beowolves on their path, and she looked disappointed that she couldn't do anything more to help without endangering her own children. Just as they began to reach the town's limits, away from the bulk of the Grimm, they heard the signature screech of the Nevermore again. It had escaped its rubble cage and was now angrier than ever.

Hazel's mother gestured at the children to hurry while she hung back to assess the situation. The Nevermore began to scan the town and although she had tried hard to avoid its gaze, for a moment, their eyes met.

Although it is a well-established fact that the Grimm have no soul, Hazel could've sworn that he saw anger in the beast's eyes. The three of them turned to run into the forest surrounding the town, hoping the added undergrowth would slow any landlocked Grimm and the trees would hide them from the airborne monster.

As the Rainart family ran as fast as they could from the beast that followed them, Hazel risked a look behind, only to see the Nevermore quickly gaining on their position. As Hazel watched the monster, he failed to pay full attention to the path that he was taking, and he failed to notice an upturned root. With his next step, the young Rainart man tripped, twisting his ankle, and dropping his sister in the process.

He quickly got up, picking up Gretchen in process, but with the added injury, his speed was greatly hindered. He limped forward, engaging his semblance to partially ignore the pain; he had not yet developed it strong enough to dissipate the pain entirely. The Rainart mother slowed and turned to Hazel; them both coming to the realization at the same time.

"Run" she said to Hazel, tossing him a dust cartridge that would normally be used for her rifle.

As Hazel caught the cartridge, removing the dust within, he hesitated. Through early experimentation, he knew that his powers were amplified when dust was fused into his system, but the withdrawals were painful, even with his unique semblance. He worried what the dust infusions would eventually do to his body, but at this moment, seeing his sister on his back, he felt he had no other choice. He stabbed the dust into his arm, suddenly feeling a bust of energy, enough to fully ignore the feeling in his ankle. Then, looking back at his mother, for what he hoped wasn't the last time, he ran. His leg took significant damage from being run on in it's condition, but hospice was a future concern; for now, he ignored the potential ramifications and went as fast as he could.

The Rainart matriarch, meanwhile, shared her last look with her children. Turning to face the oncoming Nevermore. She drew her spear, getting ready for the inevitable impact; she had given her last cartridge to her son to enhance his power, allowing him to run to safety with Gretchen. As a former huntress, she was skilled in versatility, but she had never attempted to melee a Grimm as large as the one that faced her now. As the beast approached, she noticed a small tear in its armor on its neck, something it had likely sustained when the family home crashed down upon it.

With a newfound target, Hazel's mother took a few steps back, ready to leap into the identified weak spot. As the nevermore approached, she went for a running start, leaping into the beast's path. The nevermore screeched as it went for it's killing blow, and the female warrior felt the same urge to yell as she did the same.

Several hundred feet away, with his sister's head nestled in his shoulder, Hazel looks back to see his mother for the last time. He sees her spear go into the nevermore's neck and the beast crashed down on top of her. Seconds more past, as the giant Grimm lied on top of the children's mother; a few seconds too late, the nevermore dissipated into nothingness.

Hazel stopped, staring off to the site of the battle; hoping, praying, for any sign of life. As the seconds went by, his hope diminished. As he was about to turn away, he saw, over the horizon, the arrival of Mistral Kingdom airships; no doubt filled with hunters and huntresses. The ships arriving, just a little too late…

**2020-03-05 - Never thought I'd ever back to this. Was a little discouraged when I realized that Hazel's sister had a canon name of Gretchen and calling her Chestnut didn't really work, but I felt an urge to continue writing after watching Season 7. This chapter was harder to write because I knew that Hazel's mother had to die, but I couldn't figure out how to get it done.**


	4. Chapter 4

Hazel woke up. The nightmares never ended, even as the years went by. He could never forget the day when he and Gretchen's lives changed forever; the day that they became orphans, the day that their parents died. Hazel had to drop out of school; with no other immediate family, there was no one left to take care of his sister. With their home destroyed, they had to relocate; and they moved to a small town on the outskirts of Mistral. Although their parents had left them some Lien, and the Mistral government supported them with a paltry sum; partially as an apology for their huntsmen's late arrival, Hazel still had to take up odd jobs throughout his young adulthood to support himself and his adopted sister.

As Gretchen grew, all they had was each other, and Hazel adopted to his parental role quite well. He resolved to make his sister a hearty breakfast as he rolled out of bed. Gretchen always slept much better than he did, so he was sure he still had a couple of hours before he had to go to her room to wake her himself. Hazel got himself ready and headed down the stairs into his home's kitchen.

"Hazel! You're awake!" Gretchen yelled.

Hazel looked over to his sister, sitting at a stool propped against the counter island in the kitchen. She was in the middle of quickly eating pancakes and Hazel wasn't even completely sure if she had paused to finish the food in her mouth before yelling out his name. He looked over and saw a mess in the kitchen, with far more utensils than would normally be required, strewn about the counters. He also saw an additional plate with a couple of pancakes that Gretchen must have made for him.

Hazel chuckled as he picked up the plate and joined his sister at the counter, "why are you already up? It's not even noon yet!"

Gretchen looked back at Hazel, confused, "what do you mean? I'm going to Beacon today! The ship arrives in 37 minutes!"

Glancing over at the calendar displayed on the kitchen wall, Hazel could see today's date circled with a bright red marker. He couldn't believe that it was already time, it felt like she had only received the acceptance letter yesterday, "that's today?" Hazel asked.

"Yeah! And I need to hurry. The ship departs in 36 minutes! I made you pancakes by the way! I wonder what the first day will be like?!"

"Gretchen! Slow down! The ships are never that precise. Don't worry, we'll be sure to make it in time. As for your first day, it'll probably be an orientation…" Hazel began, explaining what his first day at a Huntsmen Academy was like. Gretchen listened carefully, trying to absorb every last piece of information that she could.

As they talked, the two siblings finished eating, and headed outside. Hazel carried Gretchen's luggage, and they began walking to the ship station. Gretchen continually looked at her own watch, scared of missing the ship, and excited about the opportunity to travel to another Kingdom. Hazel meanwhile, tried to busy himself with recounting tales to his sister, hoping to avoid being with his own thoughts. As they reached the station, with only 13 minutes to spare, as Gretchen excitedly pointed out, their conversation began to sputter to an end.

For a moment, the two of them stood in silence in the station. Although Gretchen was raised mostly under Hazel's care, he felt as though the arrangement was more mutual. Hazel was broken after the death of his parents, and he doubted he could have persevered without the assistance of his adopted sibling. He feared going on without her, even if, for just a couple of months while she attended Beacon Academy. As the ship arrived in the station, he turned to his sister, "I love you."

Gretchen then jumped into Hazel's arms, embracing him in a hug that could've crushed someone outside of the Rainart clan, "I love you too!" she yelled, loud enough for the other passengers in the station to glance over and audibly aww.

As Gretchen let go and grabbed her luggage from her brother, she started walking towards the now parked ship.

"Don't forget to call!" Hazel yelled to her.

"Don't worry, I won't!" she smirked, leaving her response deliberately ambiguous.

"You won't call, or you won't forget?!" Hazel replied, cluing into the joke.

As Gretchen stepped into the ship. She turned and smiled back at her older brother. As the doors to the ship closed, she waved him goodbye. Although the Mistral ships had a slow take off procedure, this time, the procedure felt all too fast. Before he even knew it, the ship was gone.

Hazel sighed as he turned back home. For the first time since his parents' deaths, he was alone. He began his walk back, already thinking of how quiet it will be now that his sister is gone.

The trip was a long one, but after several transfers, Gretchen was finally on the last ship into Beacon Academy. Even though she was nervous, she was even more excited. She, along with all the other students on board the ship, were staring out the windows, taking in the marvels that the school had to offer; training grounds to enhance hunting skills, nearby forests to train against Grimm directly, even the cafeteria and dorms excited those students who had never ventured this far from home.

Gretchen did not know any other students, and so she decided to stick to herself for the time being, a difficult task for a woman of her stature. As she hid among the crowd, she heard a loud booming voice addressed to them all, "welcome to Beacon Academy!"

She looked over to see a dark-haired man in a double-breasted burgundy suit. As Gretchen looked up towards the man's face, she noticed more than anything, that he sported an impressive bushy mustache, "I'm Peter Port. I'm the poor TA who was put on new student escort today. I'm supposed to say something about how you guys are the future hunters and huntresses of Beacon and that we've got a duty to support you in that endeavor. I'd also like to take the opportunity to read through the school's code of conduct, starting with chapter 1, subsection A…"

As the man continued, somehow making an introduction to the coolest school in Beacon as boring as a college seminar on the practical applications of dirt, some students still gathered around, excited to learn about what the new school had to offer. Gretchen, among some others, stood back and continued to look out the window. She was excited to see where the next four years would take her.

**2020-03-08 - Wrote another chapter. I've noticed my chapters are kind of short compared to some other authors here, I hope that's okay. I've got a weird problem; I write technical documentation for a living, so my job basically revolves around me fitting as much information into as few words as possible. It kind of makes it difficult to write fiction like this.**


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